On a Medley of Christmas Carols in Washington Heights

25Dec07

True, there’s a part of us that wants to mock this display in the entrance to our parking garage in Washington Heights; to note with derision the odd juxtaposition of the toy sports-car bear with the postcard portrait of a baby Jesus; to look with disdain at the tree itself, oddly pathetic and completely garish, as if such a thing could ever mask the reality of the oil-stained floors and the heaps of trash in the corner. But we are touched by the bleak humor of this display; the way it elevates the utter futility of life into something artistic; how it makes us pause to consider our desire to hope, even when logic tells us otherwise.